Carton



F. E. BEAM CARTON June 25, 1923.

Filed Oct. '7 1920 Patented June 26, 1923.

team TE r FF FRANK E. BEAM, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO THE AUTOMAT MOLDING AND FOLDING COMPANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, COR- PORATION OF OHIO.

Application filed October 7,

of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have made an Invention Appertaining to (dartons; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will en- 'able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to cartons of the type commonly used as containers'for 'butter, ice cream bricks,and other commodities, and usually comprising" a single piece of stiff paper folded in rectangular form.

In the folding and closing of the ends of these cartons, particularly when done by machine, considerable difliculty is experienced in inserting the tongue of one of the outer end flaps into holding position in the respec- 25 tive end edge portion of the carton without 1 tearing or otherwise injuring the tongue or v the parts with which it has contact during the inserting action.

The object of my invention is to overcome the objections above noted by so fashioning the carton blank as to facilitate the entry of the tongue of an end flap into closed or holding position in the carton without tearing or injuring the same, and at the same time not weakening the carton.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, and a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accom-- panying drawings, in which,- 1

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa carton embodying the invention with the ends partly open and with parts. broken away. Fig. 2 is a similar view thereof with the inner end flaps of one end completely closed and the outer end flap in open position, and v Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an end portion of the carton with the tongue of the outer end flap in the act of being inserted into the carton.

Carton blanks of the type described, .as

customarily formed, have four foldably connected panels, 1, 2, 3 and 4 adapted to form different sides of the carton when folded, with one of the end panels, 4 in the present CARTON.

1920. Serial No. 415,306.

instance, provided with an end flap 5 adapted to lap the inner side of theother end panel 1. Y

The sides 1 and 3 of the carton at one end thereof are provided with flaps 6 and 7, re-

spectively, adapted to project in lapping relation inwardly from the ends. The flap 5, which laps the inner side of the side 1, is also provided at such end with a flap 8, which is lapped by the flap 6 and also by the end portion of the flap 7; The flaps 7 and 8 have their top edges, or those adjacent to the side 4 of the carton, out on an incline so that they extend downwardly from their inner ends to adapt them when in folded position to leave a space between their upper edges and the adjacent end of the side 4 into which space the end tongue 9 of the respective outer end flap 10 may be inserted. The

end flap 10 projects from the end of the cartongue 9 inserted under the end edge of the side 4. Thefiap 6 is provided on its top edge, or the edge thereof which is lapped by the tongue 9, with a tongue or upward projec-- tion 11, which is formed by cutting such edge of the flap away from a point substan tially at its inner end to near the outer end thereof, thereby providing a space between the adjacent end edge of the side 4 and the inner end portionof the adjacent edge of the flap. 6. It is necessary to provide, the tongue 11, which, when the carton is folded, is substantially flush with the inner side of hug 'ngrelation to the adjoining edge of the ide 4 at such end. In other words, if the .flap 6 were not provided with the tongue the tongue 9, so that itcoacts therewith to .retain the, adjacent end of the sidel in close 11 for coaction with the tongue 9 when the V carton is folded, there would be nothin to prevent the adjacent free edge portion 0 the side 1 from falling outward away from the flap 5 and the adjoining edge of the side 4.

The opening which is provided between the end of the side 4 andthe flaps 6, 7 and 8 at both sides ofthe tongue 11 by reason of thecuttin away of the material at the upper edge 0 the flap 6 at the inner side of the tongu adjacent edges of the flaps 7 and 8 as shown,

e and also the cutting of the.

is found in practice to be very important as it enables an easy finding of such opening by the tongue 9 when being directed into the carton end either by hand or by a machine, thereby facilitating the folding action and'preventing the tongue 9 from tearing and straddling the end edge of the side 4 or being otherwise injured or from injuring the parts with which it coacts by reason of its not being able to accurately findthe space into which it is, to be inserted. The tongue 11 is sufliciently flexible by reason of the material from which it is made as to enable it to be bent inward by the inserting 'force of the tongue 9, thereby permitting the tongue to freely slide over the same into its closed position.

The opposite ends of the carton is made in the usual or any suitable manner and therefore need not be specifically described. I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction, arrangement .or form of the parts, as it may be changed without departing from the spirit of the claims,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,'and desire to secure, by Let-- ters Patent, is',-

1. A carton having an inner flap and an outer flap projecting from adjacent ends of adjoining sides and adapted to lap each other when in folded relation, the outer flap having a tongue at its outer end for insertion into the carton body over a side edge of the inner flap, andsaid inner flap having a tongue at the side edge thereof which is lapped by the outer flap tongue and which coacts therewith to retain the carton sides in folded relation.

2. A carton formed of a blank. having four side panels with the side edges of the panels adjoining, an inner flap projecting inwardly from an end of one panel and having a tongue at a side edge thereof, which tongue is spaced from the panel from which it projects and from the opposite panel, an outer flap projecting from the end of a panel disposed at the-side of the inner flap opposed to its tongue and adapted to lap the inner -flap to-cooperate therewith to close the end a of the carton, the free end of the outer flap having a tongue for insertion into the carton between the tongued edge of the inner flap and the respective end of the adjacent side panel, the tongues of the two flaps cooperating to prevent an unfolding movement of the panel from which the inner flap projects.

to lap the inner panels and-having a tongue at its free end for insertion into the carton body between the adjacent side edges of the inner flaps and the side panel which is op.-

posed to that from which the outer tongue.

projects, one of the inner flaps having the edge thereof which is overlapped by the tongue of the outer flap cut away and the other inner flap having its correspond-ing edgeprovided with a tongue which coacts with the outer flap tongue intermediate its side edges to retain the carton sides in folded relation.

4. A carton formed of a single piece blank having a plurality 'of side panels adjoining at their sides, two of which lapeach other, one of thelapping side panels and the opposing side panel having inner flaps projecting from their adjacent ends for lapping each other and being cut away at one side edge, a third inner flap projecting from an end of the other lapping side panel and disposed in lapping relation to the other flaps, and an outer flap projecting from an end of a difi'erent side panel andadapted to lap theinner flanges and having a tongue at its outer end for insertion into the carton body over the cut away side edges of the first two inner flaps and a side edge of the other in ner flap, said side edge of the other inner flap having a yielding tongue which is spaced from the panels from which the inner flanges project and coacts with the outer flap tongue to retain the carton sides in folded relation. n

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this s ecification..

. FRA K E. BEAM. 

